Feline surplus packing shelter for Adopt-A-Shelter Cat Month

Kathy Dennis Moore

10:36 PM, Jun 12, 2010

Shelter volunteers Tara Wright, left, and Joy Beard hold four of the two dozen adult cats currently available for adoption. Wright is holding Bonnie and Kirsten, while Beard has Princess and Buttons. (Gleaner photo by Kathy Dennis Moore 831-8335 or kmoore@thegleaner.com)

One plus one doesn't equal two in the cat world.

First it equals four to six kittens, and a generation or two later, the figure can easily exceed 100.

That's what happens, folks, when unneutered cats are allowed to run the neighborhood.

And that's why at mid-week last week there were 46 kittens at the Humane Society of Henderson County plus nearly two dozen adult cats, all awaiting their forever homes -- a journey that many of them will never make.

So what better time than now to point out that June is the ASPCA's national Adopt-A-Shelter Cat Month?

And the best thing about adopting a shelter cat is that it will be altered, so it won't be contributing to Henderson's already overflowing cat population.

"If you get one of our cats, it is already spayed or neutered so you already are helping the cat population of Henderson enormously," said interim shelter manager Diane Green. "And you will not be populating this town with more" unwanted animals.

Litters of kittens have been arriving daily at the shelter for the past month.

"Forty-six kittens are a lot to have," Green said. "If we get hordes more, you know what's going to happen ..."

If there is a bright side to the problem, it's that families who are interested in adopting cats will likely find one that suits them.

"We have every color, every size and every age," she said.

Shelter volunteer Joy Beard agreed.

"It's a good time (to adopt a cat) because we've got the best variety we'll have all year," Beard said.

"Unfortunately, people let their cats run loose and multiply indiscriminately," she said, "which results in a high percentage being put down," especially when they're wild.

In fact, the shelter has been dealing with a large number of feral cats recently, including a couple that appeared to be purebred. "We've put down some gorgeous feral cats in the last few days," Beard said. "It just breaks your heart."

The staff attempts to work with the wild cats, she said, and gives them time to get accustomed to being around people.

But with so many tame, friendly cats already at the shelter, the lodging just doesn't exist for wild cats to stay there long.

"You just want to cry," Beard said.

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Adult cats can be adopted for $15, while kittens are $25. A second feline can be adopted for just $5. Adopted adult cats will already be neutered or spayed, while a voucher will be given for the future spaying/neutering of a young kitten. Cats will also be current on vaccinations.